What is Masking?
Masking provides a way to either reveal or hide the content of a layer underneath without deleting any information from the image (because you some times change your mind!).
As well as being easy to undo..
First I apply a Black and White layer..
Once applied the whole image turns Black and White, I need to select the Mask to hide the contents of the top layer (the Black and White layer) in a specific area, the way I do this is by selecting the Mask (essential and common complication, so make sure you click the mask icon!)
Its so important, I made everything else blurred! (Will be covered in future)
Once you have clicked the mask icon, you need to select the Paint Brush tool, just the regular old brush tool and remember this 'Black conceals, White reveals!'
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| Select as much as you can with the brush at 100% hardness |
I start with a decently sized 100% hard brush and select as much of the Horse as I can without going onto the background.
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| Doesn't matter if you go over the lines as you can see here |
I find it easier to paint the background in as opposed to painting the subject in, so I made sure I had selected the Horse fully!
Once I have my mask, I like to clean it up so I switch to my White coloured Brush (Reveal) by pressing 'x'.
The next step is to Paint the black and white layer back in using a brush with a hardness of about 50 and carefully paint the edges - this can be extremely time consuming and the more time you spend doing it the better the result.
This is a common Effect you will see around, it can be used to make eyes stand out in a portrait or a product stand out in a product shot.
This was Basic Masking by The Photoshop Sensei.
Any comments, requests or tips are always welcome!
